Monday, July 26, 2010

nursery bound

a couple posts back i showed you a piece i am working on for a client preparing for her first child.

we decided to take a hand-me-down piece of furniture and make it the changing table.

no need to spend money when there is a perfectly good piece of furniture around that will get the job done, right? this post gives the lo down with some of the before pictures and my plan to spruce it up.

between the heat and other orders i took a bit longer than planned on this but it is finally done.

i'm really digging it! the color is farmhouse blue from valspar's signature line and the knobs are from

hobby lobby. love hobby lobby.

here's what i did.

1. sanding. this piece had some pretty rough spots, including water damage on top that needed to be evened out. (i chose not to prime this piece as the wood was pretty dry)

2. first coat of paint. i used a sponge roller for big surfaces and small brush for tighter areas.

3. light sanding with 220 grit.

4. another coat followed by a very light sanding.

5. the fun part - distressing. my client likes distressed pieces and set me free to do as much or as little as i wanted. knowing the overall look she's going for in the nursery and the other pieces and fabrics that will be at play i decided to keep it minimal, with some light distressing around the edges and heavier distressing on the feet.

6. wipe-on polyurethane for a protective coat - i normally stick with a lacquer or polyacrylic for lighter pieces to avoid yellowing. i think this blue is dark enough to handle the polyurethane, though.

7. another light sanding

8. final coat of poly.

the only hardware i changed out were the knobs.

I also left the keyhole plates alone because after trying to get them off it was clear they were going to leave massive holes that i didn't want to deal with filling. my client was cool with leaving them so i moved on. they bugged me at first but are growing on me now. i think they give a little nod to the piece's former life as a liquor cabinet. :)